Ghost Town (2008)

Director:

David Koepp

Writers (WGA):

David Koepp (written by) &
John Kamps (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

He sees dead people... and they annoy him.

Plot:

Bertram Pincus, is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Dog | New York City | Penis | Medical Receptionist

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Greg Kinnear	...	Frank Herlihy
Jordan Carlos	...	Young Husband
Dequina Moore	...	Young Wife
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	...	Accident Bystander #1 (as Joe Badalucco)
Brian Hutchison	...	Accident Bystander #2
Tyree Michael Simpson	...	Sneezy Cop (as Tyre Simpson)
Julia K. Murney	...	Sneezy Lady
Ricky Gervais	...	Bertram Pincus D.D.S.
Claire Lautier	...	Upper East Side Lady
Aasif Mandvi	...	Dr. Prashar
Bridget Moloney	...	Receptionist
Raymond J. Lee	...	Greenpeace Guy (as Raymond Lee)
Joey Mazzarino	...	Food Delivery Guy
Brad Oscar	...	Day Doorman
Kathleen Landis	...	Resident

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44426) | UK:12A | Australia:M | Ireland:12A | Sweden:7 | Sweden:Btl | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The New York Times crossword puzzle seen within the first 10 minutes when Dr. Pincus (Ricky Gervais) first comes home is the puzzle from Monday, October 1, 2007 (Created by Allan E. Parrish).

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the elevator talking to Gwen, Dr. Pincus told her to check the mummy for something he saw on the slide show: "...some bone loss on the upper left mandibular gumline." If there was bone loss on the upper jaw, it would be the maxilla. The correct verbiage should be "...some bone loss on the upper left maxillary gumline." The mandible is the lower jaw. Additionally, upon examination of the mummy in a later scene, the upper RIGHT side of the mouth was examined.

Quotes:

Frank Herlihy: [to Bertram about his ability to see ghosts] Everybody needs something done and you're the only person who can see or hear us.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "At the Movies: (#6.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

What I'm Looking For

The Sixth Sense: The Comedy

The main character, Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a Manhatten Dentist and a misanthrope. When the Dentist he shares an office with invites Bert to some cake and champagne to celebrate the birth of his child, Bert looks at him like he's a panhandler asking for change and tells him to "start without me".

When Bert gets a routine colonoscopy, he reacts adversely & dies for 7 minutes, but is revived. However, the result is he is able to see dead people. These aren't just any ordinary ghosts, but ghosts who continue to haunt their previous Manhatten neighborhoods, where they died, until something happens in the real world that will allow them to move on.

One such ghost is Frank (Greg Kinnear), a philandering Manhatten playboy type, who is pestering Bert to intervene on his behalf to get his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni) to break up with her fiancé, because Frank "thinks he's just after her for her money".

Bert agrees, but then falls for Gwen himself, and gradually is transformed from a curmudgeon into a much better person (shades of Ebeneezer Scrooge!).

This may sound like a tired plot that's been overdone many times before, but somehow it works very nicely here.

I thought Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, & Greg Kinnear were all excellent. Gervais was particularly good as the lead. His understated British comedic talents were well suited to the role. The supporting cast was great also. Kristen Wiig (from SNL) turned in a hilarious role as the surgeon who botched the colonoscopy.

What I liked most about this was that it worked on a number of levels, as a very good comedy, a ghost story, a romance, and a story of redemption.

Go check it out at the theater. You'll be glad you did.